PS5 pre-orders: Sony sold as many ‘in the first 12 hours in the United States as in the first 12 weeks’ for PlayStation 4

On Tuesday, Sony Interactive CEO Jim Ryan told Reuters that the PS5 had moved as many units in the first 12 hours of its pre-order window as the PlayStation 4 sold in 12 weeks.

That’s impressive, but with Spider-Man: Miles Morales as a launch title — alongside a Demon’s Souls remake and the promise of other big first-party titles in the next year or two — it’s almost expected. Especially in this time of a pandemic, where most are spending their leisure time at home.

“The demand as expressed by the level of pre-order has been very, very considerable,” Ryan said.

“It may well be that not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one.”

Sony’s consoles have had a string of blockbuster hits in a recent years with games like God of War, The Last of Us Part 2, Uncharted 4, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, and more.

“We think that if gamers are making a decision on a piece of hardware that is going to last them for several years, they want certainty,” Ryan said recently.

“They want certainty that it’s going to be future-proofed. They want certainty that when it comes [time] to upgrade their television to a 4K version, for example, that PS5 will be completely compatible.”

The PlayStation 5 hits shelves on November 12.